Sept 10

Proverbs 2:6-11
6 For the LORD grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.

You're Dreaming. You're not sure how you know it's a dream. Maybe it's because you're seven years old again and God is standing before you wearing a pair of Reeboks and blue jeans. God has told you to make a wish and he'll make it come true. You wish for riches. Of course. Who wouldn't? The next moment in your dream, you're old like maybe fifty. And you're not rich. In fact, you're upset with God for not making your wish come true as he had promised. "I asked you to make me rich," you complain to God. "I did," God answers softly. "Nuh-uh," you protest. You turn your pockets inside out, revealing nothing but pocket lint and six cents, all in pennies. "Remember when I gave you my commandment to 'act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God'? And remember when I told you to 'follow justice' and 'do for others what you would like them to do for you'?" "Yeah," you say, nodding. "Well, that alone was worth a fortune to you," God says. "What?" you say. "How do you figure?" "Well," says God, "let's just take one example. Obeying those commands protected you from the guilt of cheating people and treating them unfairly, right?" "Well, yeah," you say, "I guess so." "That saved you the $27,410 you would have paid to a therapist to try to overcome your guilt. That doesn't even count the money you saved from not buying sleeping pills and antacids to combat the sleeplessness and indigestion that would have resulted if you had ignored my commands." "Wow," you say, suddenly feeling very sheepish. "I guess I never thought about it that way before." "So you see," God says, putting the calculator into the pocket of his jeans, "I really did grant you your wish. I made you rich-in more ways than one." And you remind yourself that it's a dream, because in real life God wouldn't wear jeans-or would he?

REFLECT: Why do you think obeying God's commands protects us from guilt and provides us with a clear conscience?

PRAY: "God, sometimes I wish for things that you know aren't right for me. Thanks for saying no. Now give me the 'treasure of good sense' today as I get ready to..."

things happend for a reason. even situations that you may not like to be in. God always has a plan for you and whatever you may do, God has already planned the outcome and gives you more than just pain from an uncomfortable and dramatic problem. He sees that you are not doing something that he approves of and he makes sure that you redeem yourself. if you pray to God, he will answer but not answer in the exact way you would like to happen. i remember Dan once did a devotion with us about being mindful and careful of what you pray for because it will happen one way or another. God loves us so that he answers our prayers in more than just one specific way. it's like a win-win deal for us and God like the example in today's devotion. the person prayed for richness and got pennies for himself while God even said that He made the person rich in more than one way.
that's it! byee!

I just thought of this question......
Where would we be right now if we did not know God?
It's really hard to answer that.....I can't imagine life without God.
And yet, there are so many people who still don't know anything about the Lord.
The lord who has given us so much and died on the cross for us.
So many people don't know what is more valuable than money. Some people hear the word but then get carried away into their own intrests and get distracted. That is why Jesus traveled going to different places trying to spread the word of God. And as children of God, we should do what God wants us to do. True riches is not rectangle paper that fits into your wallet, real fortunes are with God.
God didn't create us so that we could all go after money, we are all for different puposes but should do whatever it is all for God.

Alright, I'm going to finish up my homework now....good night!
~Audrey~

the things God do to take away the bad things in our life, add up to change more than it would have to add many God things.

I guess one of the bigger parts of wisdom is seeing both sides of the field. Things that could've gone bad, and things that are happening. We're always looking in one direction and fail to turn around to see what God had done for us thus far. With that said, uhhhhh. yeah.

Appreciate and see what you have.

I don't know why I'm so confused reading this. I don't really understand the point of the devo... :/
Or how anything relates to anything. ..hmm... I shall read this over later, and hopefully understand what's going on.

wat
and omg would've been fantastic, but then it had like the "or would he" thingy at the end. ohmygod

i guess this had to do with how God has a plan for us all or that God gives us a clear conscience. Wasn't exactly super sure about that. But what I got from this devo was to trust in God no matter what goes on between Him and you. He is all knowing and sovereign. He would never do anything to rip you off or take away from you. Instead, everything he does is to help and guide you to a better path. And though our wellbeing is his first priority, he also gives us bonuses, like the 27000 smth he saved from pills and whatnot. So trust god

night

im really exhausted.. i will do this tomorrow

Hmmm ok so the story made me slightly confused...
But basically I understood that God's word and rules are so much more precious and valuable than anything else. As long as you follow these rules, there is nothing else important.
really short sorry!
Good night!

I feel as if whenever we feel guilt, we turn even more away from God.
I know it kind of pressures us to ask for forgiveness, but I feel as if as the guilt drive me further away from God.
It makes me doubt Him even more, it's kind of like a drug which pushes me from his presence.
I believe that guilt is much like pain, in my opinion. It feels as if once we start feeling guilt, it just hurts us.
But without guilt, there would be no regret to committing sins. Temptation would be conquer us all, and we'd commit sins without hesitation.
Whenever we feel we've been cheated from God, from not keeping His own part, it's really just us, who hasn't truly seen his understanding.
I wouldn't want to say, who could blame us, but we will never be able to understand God truly. We could follow his perspective, but we wouldn't see and decipher the logic and reasoning behind it. That's basically when faith kicks in.

"Thought of us before the world began to breathe"

11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.

This verse stuck to me, a lot
We have so many choices to make everyday. Some good, some bad.
Us making those right choices, will only lead us in the right direction, it'll watch over us.
they talk about "watching over us" and whether it's God watching over us or not, wise choices will bring us closer to God.
Understanding how these wise choices benefit us, and understanding why we make these choices keep us safe.
So many opportunities to make choices in our daily lives, step by step, let's make the right ones.

Well I Get 5 hours of sleep tonight because I need to wake up earlier tomorrow to study for a quiz.
Huzzah

What this reminds me of is when we pray for something pretty straight forward such as i wanna get good marks. I want to become a better person etc... And when we think that God has ignored our prayers because what we prayed for didnt happen we feel down and sad. What i realized was that whatever you Pray, God is listening but it may not come immdieatly and not as you would expect to.
Remember God has a time and place for everything. He will be the light that will guide us through the pathway.

9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
This reminded me of the sermon Dan told us about moving forward. And we have been talking about what is just, treating others fairily. This verse stood out to me because it reminded me that when we put our faith in God, he will lead us towards the right path which is just a small step for us to closer to God.

Sorry for not posting.. been busy.

Gods commandments are what build us and shape us as a person. I think God made several because he knew not all could be followed. Or else the person would be perfect.
The commandments of God clearly show whats to be done and protects us from any bad influences. We are conscious as to what is bad and we everything to avoid it.
I guess the commandments protect us from further sin and punishment... knowing that its the Law of our Father.
Whatever choices we make.. good or bad, God is there watching us and will be there supporting us and guiding us in the right direction.